Shearing-machine.



E. A. PALMER.

SHEARING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16, 1915.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH :0, WASHINGTON, D. c.

inn ri ENOCH A. PALMER, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

SHEARING-MACHINE.

Application filed October 16, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ENOCH A. PALMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Aurora, in the county of, Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shearing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in shearing machines utilized in shearing or clipping the wool of animals, and comprising, in general, a cutter or knife mounted upon a guard plate or cfmb and connected with a vibratory cutter lever, and suitable power transmitting means.

Among the objects sought to be accomplished is to provide an improved construction of such parts of the machine as constitute the pivotal supporting member of the vibratory cutter lever and the means for regulating the tension upon the cutter knife,

with a view to materially reducing the friction and resulting wear between the parts and at the same time providing for the equalization of the pressure exerted by the cutter knife in its movement in contact with said guard plate or comb.

A clear understanding of the features of my invention will be obtained from a detailed description of the device embodying the features of my invention, and in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a shearing machine embodying the features of my invention; Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal section of the shearing machine taken on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the members of the pivot post removed from the machine; and Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a portion of the cutter lever also removed from the machine and associated parts.

Referring to the drawings, the frame of a shearing machine embodying my invention consists of a hollow casing having integral side walls 11 and bottom wall 12, and preferably provided with a removable top wall or cover 13. The forward end of the casing is open, although the opening is pivotally closed by means of a downwardly Specification of Letters Patent.

iatented Mar. 21, 1916.

Serial No. 56,194.

depending flange 13 integral with the cover plate. The cover plate is removably secured to the casing by means of suitable screws 14;, 14, which extend through the cover at the forward and rear parts thereof and engage the side walls 11, 11 of the casing. The bottom wall 12 of the casing is extended forwardly beyond the casing proper in the form of a fan-shaped flange or comb supporting plate 15, said flange being located immediately in front of the opening at the forward end of the casing. The comb or guard plate 16 is adapted to be removably and adjustably secured to said plate 15, and preferably to the under side thereof, by means of screws 17, 17 engaging said plate and suitable slots formed in the body portion of said comb. As its name suggests, the comb comprises a series of long narrow teeth 18, 18 arranged in parallel relation and preferably having their ends or points coinciding with the arc of a circle concentric to the path of movement of the cutter knife, as will hereinafter be pointed out.

Integral with the casing and extending from the rear end thereof is a tubular extension or casing 19, which serves as a handle and is provided with a longitudinal bore or bearing which supports the driving shaft 20 of the machine. The shaft is preferably provided with a reduced portion intermediate its ends to rovide an oil chamber within the tubular casing 19, said casing being provided with an oil opening communicating with the oil chamber and normally closed by a suitable screw 21. Secured to the outer end of the shaft and exterior of the tubular extension is a bevel gear or pinion 22 adapted to mesh with a companion pinion (not shown), the same being mounted in a bearing suitably supported upon the tubular extension and connected with a flexible shaft, through the medium of which power to operate the cut ter is transmitted to the machine.

T he rotative movement of the shaft 20 is transformed into a vibratory or oscillatory movement to operate the cutter knife, through the medium of parts wh ch may be generally described as follows: Within the casing 10 is mounted a pivot post 23, the same being rotatably supported in vertical position adjacent to the forward opening of the casing and on the longitudinal center line thereof. The upper and lower 811. 15 of inafter pointed out.

lower surface with a series of notches which are adapted to be engaged by the end of a locking spring 27 fixed to the casing by means of an apertured portion retained between the casing and the bushing 24, as shown in Fig. 3. The lower bushing 25 is preferably provided with an upwardly facing srcket in which is seated the lower end .of said post 23, there being provided a screw cap 28 having screw-threaded engagement with the lower portion of said bushing and bearing against the lower end of the pivot post 23, said screw cap 28 being adapted to be turned in either direction to raise or lower the bottom wall or bearing surface at the lowerend of the post, thereby permitting the vertical adjustment of the post 23.

Mounted upon the post 23 is a vibratory cutter lever or fork 29, which carries at its forward end the cutter knife 31 having aseries of four pointed cutting teeth 31 arranged to he moved with a vibratory movement transversely of and in contact with the upper surface of the teeth of the guard plate or comb 16 and substantially in the arc of a circle taken about the axis of the pivot post as a center. The cutter knife is preferably connected to. the arms of the cutter lever by means of studs 30, 30 having screw-threaded engagement with the ends of the arms 30,30, the ends of said studs ex tending downwardly and through apertures formed in the cutter knife, it being noted that the cutter knife is not rigidly attached to the cutter lever.

At the central portion of the cutter lever or fork 29 is provided an enlarged portion 32 Fig. 3), provided with an aperture orbear- .ing through which extends the pivot post 23,

putter lever or fork 29, in additionto having an oscillatory or vibratory movement about the pivot post, as already described, is further supported by said post in a manner to permit a rocking movementof the same relative to the post 23, this rocking movement being in the nature of a tilting of the cutter lever from side to side along its longitudinal axis and simultaneously with the vibratory motion, the purpose of this rocking movement being to equalize the pressure exerted by the cutter lever upon the cutter knife, or to distribute such pressure uniformly throughout the entire width of the knife and in all positions of the same in contact with the comb or guard.

Referring now more in detail to the arrangement and construction of the cutter lever or fork 29 and the post 23, it is to be observed that the post 23 consists of two parts, namely, a lower and an upper member 36 and 37, respectively, the upper member being removably mounted upon the lower part, as shown in Fig. l. The lower member 36 consists of a cylindric post seated in the bushing 25,7as before described, and extending upwardly through the aperture or bearing in the enlarged central portion 32 of the cutter lever and beyond the same, said lower member being provided with a spherical bearing portion 38 intermediate its ends and adapted to coact in bearing engagement with the annular seat formed by said aperture. Immediately below the spherical portion 38 said lower member 36 of the pivot post is provided with an integral arm 39 extending at right angles to the post immediately below the cutter lever. This arm is arranged to extend rearwardly in alinement with the cutter lever and is provided at its end with an upwardly extending projection or contact point 39, the same being substantially conical in form, althou h preferably slightly greater in its longitudinal dimensions, thereby forming a mrdified type of knife edge. The contact point 39 is adapted to extend into and to be seated in a downwardly facing socket, as at 40 (Fig. 2), for-med in the under surface of the adjacent portion of the cutter lever, the walls of said socket being spaced from the surface of said projection a sufficient dis-' tance to'permit free movement of the lever,

with the point or edge 39 as a pivoting point. In order to further permit the free and unobstructed movement of the lever, it

is preferable to remove the metal from the under surface of the lever arm throughout the portion immediately above the,- arm 39,

central portion of the cutter lever, theunder' surface of the enlarged central portion of the lever being also grooved or hollowed out to: provide aconcave depression imme- .by providing a shallow groove or depression I p diately above the base of the arm 39, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, it being understood that the upper and lower surfaces of the cutter lever are similar with respect to the formation of the socket and groove therein. The upper member 37 ofthe pivot post consists of a cylindric tubular member adapted to fit over or engage the upper end of the lower member 36 of the pivot post, the upper portion of said member being surrounded by the upper bushing 24 and in contact at itsupper surface with the tension screw 26, as before described. The upper member 37 is also provided with an integral arm 41 located immediately above the cutter lever 29, said arm corresponding to the arm 39 of the lower member 36, located immediately below the cutter lever. This arm 41 extends forwardly and in the opposite direction from the arm 39 and is provided at its end with a similarly formed contact point or modified knife edge 41 there being provided in the upper surface of the cutter lever a socket, as at 42 (Fig. 5), adapted to receive said point 41 The upper surface of the cutter is also grooved from the socket to and including the upper surface of the enlarged central portion surrounding the central bearing aperture, as

shown in Figs. 3 and 5, thereby permitting the free rocking or tilting movement of the cutter lever. By reason of this construction it is manifest that the cutter lever is supported or suspended upon the pivot post at two points, one at the rear of the pivotal bearing and beneath the lever, and the other forward of said bearing and on the upper surface of the lever, said points or modified knife edges and the sockets being so arranged that the points of contact are substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the cutter lever and in alinernent with the spherical bearing 38. It is apparent that the arms and their contact with the cutter lever at points removed from the vertical axis of the lever and at a distance forwardly and rearwardly thereof serve to connect the cutter lever and the pivot post, so that the latter moves with the cutter lever in its vibratory movement, and hence is rotative in thebearing at either end of the post. By reason of the two-point contact the slight rocking movement of the cutter lever about the longitudinal axis of the lever provides the necessary equalizing of the pressure transmitted by the lever to the cutter knife to afford the proper adjustment of the cutter knife relative to the guard plate or comb 16. The pressure of the lever is transmitted to the cutter knife through the medium of presser fingers 43, 43, which are mounted upon and have screw-threa ded engagement with studs 44, 44 rigidly connected with the laterally extending arms 30, 30 integral with the forward end of the cutter lever 29. The presser fingers 43, 43 have the form of forked members connected at their central portion with the studs 44, 44, each end portion or finger thereof being curved downwardly and resting upon a tooth of the cutter knife. Thus the pressure from the cutter lever is transmitted directly to the teeth of the cutter knife and at a point adjacent to the cutting edge. The pressure fingers are further mounted in screw-threaded engagement with the studs 44, 44, in order that they may be adjusted longitudinally thereof to accommodate the variation in the length of the cutting teeth due to regrinding.

The pressure of the cutter knife upon the comb or guard plate is manifestly controlled by means of the tension screw 26, which bears upon the end of the upper member 37 of the pivot post 23. The pres sure thus transmitted to the upper member 37 is conveyed to the cutter lever through the medium of the arm 41 of said member 37, which bears upon the upper surface of said lever at a distance forwardly of the pivot post, and acts to press the cutter lever downwardly at its forward end and likewise the presser fingers downwardly against the teeth 31 of the cutter knife 31. The lower member 36 of the post receives no direct pressure from the tension screw, for the reason that the upper end of the same has endwise movement within the tubularupper member, but does receive an indirect pressure through the medium of the cutter lever, which is forced downwardly and against the contact point 39 of the arm 39, said arm thereby acting to prevent the downward movement of the rear portion of the cutter lever in contact with the bottom wall 12 of the casing. It is thus apparent that the cutter lever is supported wholly upon the two contact points of the arms 39 and 41 of the-pivot post, and thus is free to rock or to be tilted transversely about its longitudinal axis, and further by reason of the two-point support the rocking movement is not affected by the increase or decrease of pressure transmitted to the lever through the tension screw. It is further manifest that the vibratory movement of the cutter lever is accompa ied by a slight axial movement of the pivot post, since the arms are, in effect, connected to thelever by reason of the point and socket arrangement between said parts. This axial move ment, however, is not materially affectedby the pressure of the tension screw, for the reason that a very slight pressure is required upon the upper end of the post to afford the necessary adustment of the cutter knife, for the reason that the pressure is applied to the lever forwardly of the post, involving a lever action through the medium of the arm 41, which increases the pressure upon the cutter lever in proporthe point contact method of supporting the cutter lever has as its principal advantage theelimination of excess friction and con sequent wear of the parts,it being obvious that little wear is occasioned at the places where such wear would affect the operation of the machine, namely, at the coacting surfaces of the pivot post and the cutter lever, the wear at those points being eliminated almost entirely. The advantage of the elimination of wear between the parts obviously increases the life of the machine and insures the proper and continuous operation of the machine during a longer period of time, without replacement of parts or adjustment thereof, by reason of the excess wear and lost motion occasioned thereby. A further advantage, and one of considerable importance, resulting from the elimination of wear, is in the replacement of broken parts, in that the new part or member is not affected in its cooperation with an old part by reason of the wear to wh ch the latter has been subjected.

The structural features of the device may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore I do not desire to be limited, except in so far as expressly pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

7 l. A shearing machine, comprising a casing. a vibratory cutter lever, a pivot post having bearing in said casing and engaging said lever intermediate its ends, said post comprising relatively endwise movable members, each provided with an arm having supporting engagement with said lever at points above and below the same and dis posed longitudinally on opposite sides of said post. r

' 2. A shearing machine, comprising a cas- ,ing, a guard plate, a cutter movableon said guard plate, a vibratory cutter lever operatively connected with said cutter, a pivot post mounted in said casing and comprising endwise movable members extending through an aperture 111 said lever, each of said members being provided with an arm,

said arms extendingin opposite directions above and below said lever and iii/bearing engagement therewith at points horizontally removed from said pivot post, and a tension screw bearing on the end of one of said members. 7 e

3. A shearing machine, comprising a oasing, a guard plate, a cutter movable on said guard plate, a vibratory cutter lever operatively connected with said cutter, a pivot post mounted in said casing and having bearing engagement with said lever, said post comprising endwise movable members, each being provided with a supporting arm, one extending in the direction of said cutter and located above said lever, and the other extending in the opposite direction and located below said lever, said arms being protively connected with said cutter, a pivot post mountedin said casing and extending throu h an a aerture in said lever intermedin b I 0 I 0 ate its ends, said post comprising a cylindric member and a tubular member having endwise" movable engagement with each other, one of said members being provided wlth an arm extending horizontally above said lever and forwardlyin the direction of 1 said cutter, and the othermember provided with an arm extending below said lever and in the opposite. direction, said arms being provided at their ends with contact points engaging sockets formed in said lever. at a distance from said aperture, and a tension screw bearing on the end of said member provided with the forwardly extending arm.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I afiix my signature in the presence of two'witnesses, thisl ithday'of October, A. D. 1915.

ENOCH'A. PALMER. Witnesses: 7 CHARLES H. TooLn, CLARA L. PEOPLES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01' Patents.

Washington, D C. 

